Fire Emblem: The Frozen Throne expansion
by The Lordaeron Paladin
Summary: What would happen if the mysterious tactician of Rekka no Ken turns out to be someone not from Elibe? Warcraft III x Rekka no Ken crossover. Basically goes over the entire story chapter by chapter with the new tactician added. Many pairings included!
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer:**_

1) I own neither Warcraft III nor Fire Emblem, nor am I making any profit out of this

2) Fans of Warcraft III (Especially fans of Uther the Lightbringer) and fans of Fire Emblem (Especially fans of the Blade Lord Lyndis) please don't get mad at me for twisting those stories in my own way.

3) My story is very spoilerish in nature, so don't read if you haven't played the whole game

_Thank you for your attention!_

* * *

_**Prologue**_

_**Old Man of Lordaeron**_

"Urgh… ghaa…." Uther the Lightbringer cried out loudly in pain. He looked down under his chest, where his neat silver breastplate once was, and saw it had been pierced right through by a cruel frozen blade. There was no blood yet though, as the blade that struck him was frozen in nature. A sharp pain ran down the spine of the old man, and he lost balance quickly.

The old warrior then looked up, face to face with the culprit having just struck him. His opponent, a supposedly bright young blonde with muscular build, but whose face was greatly deformed by a ghastly complexion and unnatural wrinkles, was still sitting there on horseback triumphantly, his skeletal steed growling horridly, his sword shining with a dreadful blackish light and covered in frost, and his grisly armor was even further intoned by the four human skull figures adorning his shinguards and armguards. But what was more devilish of the man was his grin, which looked quite not like that of a living human, but rather the wailing grin of one with no soul at all. Behind him stood not one, not two, but a whole army of bloodthirsty ghoulish creatures with bloody teeth and claws, ever ready to tear up human flesh and dunk the delicious treat into their mouth. The foul warrior was Arthas, the corrupted Prince of the Kingdom of Lordaeron, one who had given up his soul for vengeance and who had been turned into a walking abomination of the scourge terrorizing his own people.

The old warrior, not having given up yet, tried to stand up bravely and fight on, but finally realized that his efforts had become futile. The moment had come, and the old Paladin of the Order of the Silver Hand knew his end was coming close…

"Arthas…" he said, between breaths that were becoming more and more painfully taken "I… I hope there is… will be a special place in … Hell… reserved for you…"

"We may never know, Uther, for I intend to live…" The one having just struck the fatal blow, Arthas, spoke arrogantly in a rather ghastly voice "…forever"

The old man leaned down difficultly against his blessed was hammer standing on the ground. No longer could he lift it up. Nor would he ever need to do so again, as after finishing his last insolent words, Arthas walked slowly towards the dying old man, face decorated with one of those distinctively ghastly and deathly smiles, and delivered the final blow at the neck of the dying warrior, silencing him forever, thus ended the life of the gracious Uther the Lightbringer, founding Paladin of the Order of the Silver Hand, who was once his teacher, his most faithful courtier and most of all, his friend.

After committing the horrible crime, Arthas bent down at the corpse of the poor warrior, and after a while, recovered what he claimed to be his trophy: the magical urn of King Terenas Menethil, his own father who, not long ago, was also slain by his very hands with the very sword he used to kill Uther- the dreaded runeblade Frostmourne, forged by the devious Lich King and fell into his hand in a rather arranged destiny…

"This is it, my warriors" the corrupt prince turned to his horde of undead warriors "We are reporting to the Dreadlord Tichondrius now"

The vile undead horde then departed, not before having eaten up the corpses of all the fighters having combated alongside with the late Paladin. However, guarded by divine forces, the body of the dead Paladin was left intact…

Hours later, the battlefield became active again. A group of champions of the Kingdom of Lordaeron had gathered themselves upon hearing dire news of the corrupt prince's deathly parade, and rushed to their beloved Grandmaster Uther the Lightbringer's aid. Led by Uther's two most devoted followers, Aurius the Seeker and Agramand the Truthbearer, the humans struck the ghouls at the time they were trying to use what was left of their brains to think of a way to eat up the corpse of the late Uther, and routed them soundly. It was a victory for the humans, but the arrival of the two Paladins was too late- Uther the Lightbringer, the greatest Champion of the Light of Azeroth, the most decorated and faithful veteran of the Second War, had fallen.

"Master Uther! Lord Uther! NOOOOOOO!!" Aurius cried out upon seeing the dead body of his master "Arthas, you will pay dearly for this!!!!!"

The Paladin knelt before the remains of his master, weeping. He and his comrades had been too late to save their master. Agramand also knelt down to pay tribute to his dead master, his hands gripping tightly at the handle of his blessed war hammer, as if delivering the death blow to the great defiler Arthas. The soldiers of Lordaeron who followed the two paladins on their attack also bowed to the brave soul of the champion Uther, and before long, everyone found themselves shouting a resounding "DEATH TO ARTHAS AND HIS UNDEAD HORDE!!" in anger and vengeance, followed by a pregnant pause during which everyone tried to control their emotions.

"Aurius" Agramand started speaking first after a while "We must give Lord Uther a proper burial. He is a great warrior… the greatest Azeroth will have ever seen for many years to come"

"Agreed, Agramand" Aurius replied "Still, I suggest we cannot just bury him, for the undead… they will undoubtedly dig up the grave and defile the late Uther's corpse further"

"You mean… we must incinerate his remains?"

"Yes, Agramand, that is what we should do now. Let us have the soldiers set up a proper funeral pyre for Lord Uther, and pray that his enlightened soul will find peace in the eternity. And let us remember this spot, for this ground will be Lord Uther's grave"

Then, the two paladins and their soldiers immediately set to work, and in a matter of hours a makeshift funeral pyre was constructed right at the spot where Uther the Lightbringer had been slain, and with tears overflowing the eyes of all those present, the late warrior's corpse was consumed by the fire, and then, his ash collected into a small jar and buried in discreet at the spot.

Some time later, strangely enough, Uther regained consciousness, or that was rather not him, but his soul, and found himself lying in on a marble ground. He pushed himself up to stand straight up, and in the meantime, discovered that he was standing amidst the clouds. Looking at himself once more, Uther was rather amazed to see that his body had become ethereal, as light as the air itself, and his war hammer was missing as well as his shining silver armor, leaving to be dressed in the formal court garment that he used to wear upon meeting the King in non-military occasions. Uther was obviously standing in another plain, presumably heaven, for the clouds and the pure marble ground were rather unearthly and holy. The old warrior, now having stood up firmly on his feet, began to look around and investigate the place.

The court he was on turned out to be a large throne room, decorated with Corinthian style pillars and large, elaborate statues of warriors standing in posture and decorated with golden plates and shields. As Uther moved further up the throne room, the deceased paladin realized he was not there alone. On the throne room sat a figure shining with a golden halo, with three pairs of outstretched wings laced with gold and silver, dressed in a white robe inside a golden plate mail, though much more elaborate and carefully decorated than the armors the statues had the luck to be decorated in. He had obviously been observing the Paladin since he started to wriggle and stand up. Now, upon seeing the old Paladin approaching, the figure gave a kind smile, like that of a father to a son, and signaled the Paladin to come closer.

Now the throne was only about twenty steps away from Uther the Lightbringer, or rather his soul, and he was able to recognize the figure on it. He was Supreme Seraph Tyrael, one of God's mot trusted archangels and Heaven's most decorated generals, as well as a sympathetic force for humanity, one who had been known to be lending the Paladins the help they needed to do the impossibilities such as bringing the dead back to life. Uther suddenly shuddered at the thought. Did the Supreme Seraph call on him himself? It was a great honor to be if that was true. Thinking so, Uther continued moving towards the Seraph.

When he was about ten steps away from the Seraph, Uther decided that it would be violating to keep coming closer, and thus stopped, bowed down to the archangel to await further commands.

"Very good, Uther" the archangel started speaking, in a very resounding and holy voice, even more so than most other angels "you have finally come round, I suggest"

"Yes, sire" the old paladin answered, still bowing low

"You may stand up now, warrior" the archangel spoke kindly, signaling the paladin to stand up

"Yes, sire" Uther answered, straightening himself up, and as soon as he had, the archangel spoke again

"Uther the Lightbringer, you have come a very long way in promoting and championing the Light and Justice, as well as keeping the peace among your people. You are indeed a great warrior amongst your people"

"No, sire" Uther answered humbly, his eyes filled with sorrow as he bent down in regret "I… have failed them. I should never have started training the spoiled prince Arthas in the first place. And even now he is tormenting his people… his OWN people to serve his own demonic will…"

"It is destiny, Uther" Archangel Tyrael said sympathetically "The kingdom of Lordaeron is fated to be doomed, or at least ravaged, in the hand of it own prince. The Order of the Silver Hand that you have founded has been largely effective in combating the evil in the past decades, Uther, for that I can congratulate you. But still, its time is coming to an end, and I am afraid, Uther, that your followers can do much less than stopping Arthas, let alone the catastrophe that he is bringing about…"

"But, sire, is there any way he can be stopped? Is there any way by which my people may be freed? I couldn't stop Arthas the last time I face him… I didn't have the power to"

"And that is why you are here, Uther. This is the Hall of the Fallen Heroes you are in now. It is rather… depressing to inform you that you are no longer alive to stop Arthas with your own might" the Seraph continued, and then his voice toned up a bit "However, as you can see, Uther, the reason why I have chosen to see you myself is not just to inform you of your death, but rather is to give you another direction… another way to save your people"

Upon hearing that, Uther's heart felt as if it had been freed of a huge load, and the old paladin's eyes brightened up

"Sire, please pardon me for my impatience, but what is that I can do to save my people? What should I do to free them from this hell on earth?"

"Destiny has got its own way to solve all problems of humanity" the Seraph said with a smile "but yes, it is true that without special heroes and special weapons, such monstrosities as Arthas cannot be put an end to effectively"

"Sire, so what should I do?"

"Now, Uther, if you can see, God has prepared three weapons for humanity in such times of peril" the seraph continues, waving his hand in a fill circle, and out of nowhere, three artifacts slowly materialized and descent on the ground in front of Uther.

Uther took a glance at the three newly materialized items lying on the ground, and was immediately seized by amazement for their beauty and elegance. One of those was a long blade, with golden handle and guardpiece, and whose silver blade was giving out an unearthly golden light that seemed to blur and blind all those who beheld it. Another was a large silver sledge hammer, maybe twice larger than the type Uther was comfortable with, and whose edge was further enforced by alternating bolts of electricity-like energy, giving it a somewhat godly look. But all the wonders lay within the third weapon, which was a rapier. Its beauty and elegance was unmatched- the entire sword was made of pure gold imbued with concentrated holy energy, the power of which far exceeded the capacity of even the most intense Holy Light beam that the Paladins of the Order of the Silver Hand often utilize to bash their foul enemies. Maybe even looking at the blade was deadly to the undead, for the energy it gave out was so great that as Uther beheld its great power, he felt as if holy energy was overflowing his now-ethereal body. Those three weapons were still laying there, each giving out its own light, and the beam of light created by the three working in unison was too blinding to look directly at. After some time observing those miraculous artifacts with great amazement, Uther finally was able to break his own silence

"Sire, may I ask you something?"

"Go ahead, Uther" the angel smiled kindly

"With such intense power, they may easily defeat Arthas, but… who may be able to wield them?" Uther asked anxiously

"Ah, good question, Uther" the Seraph replied "Now that is also what I would ask you to do"

The archangel then left his throne and walked up to the weapons he had just manifested. Picking up the blazing long sword, Archangel Tyrael explained

"This blade is called Radiance, one forged with the flame of the Sun itself. This is what makes it virtually unbreakable as well as possessing unique powers. Like the Sun, it burns brightly in the hand of the wielder, blurring all those who would want to assault him, and simultaneously incinerate those defiant enemies with the heat drawn directly from the solar flame"

Then he moved to the sledge hammer, lifting it up as a demonstration

"This hammer, Mjolnir, used to be wielded by a deity, but since his demise, the hammer has never been used once more, and since then no one could fully command it, for it has the power to call up fierce thunderstorms and killer lightning bolts to smite those who stand in the way of its wielder"

The archangel stopped for a while in front of the third weapon, before finally picking it up and pointed it upwards

"Now Uther, listen carefully as this weapon is the most important of them all. This rapier is called the Divine Rapier, and glory be with the one entrusted with the edge, for God Himself has created this weapon. Unlike the other weapons that I have shown you, this one is very special, for it can grant a mortal the power that far exceeds that of an ordinary angel. Only one who is extremely worthy, one with a kind and pure heart as well as an unearthly fighting prowess can hope to utilize this blade and possess the angelic power"

"Understood, sire" Uther replied, but then his voice all of a sudden clouded up in disappointment "But, sire, holy as those divine weapons are, who may use them? After all, what use are weapons of when no one can use them at all?"

"Now, Uther, that is your mission" the archangel smiled, and then explained further "According to destiny, Arthas Menethil and the Lich King shall both be slain by the power of those weapons, and the people who shall wield them are three"

"Who are they, sire?" Uther asked impatiently

"The sword Radiance shall be wielded by the swordswoman Lyndis of the plains of Sacae, the great hammer Mjolnir shall be comfortable in the hands of the great lord Hector of the land of Ostia, and finally and most importantly, the Divine Rapier shall be brandished by the knight general Eliwood of the principality of Pherae, and shall be the weapon that will finish Arthas once and for all. That is the dictation of fate"

"Sacae… Ostia… Pherae…" Uther said in confusion "Please excuse me, but I have never heard of those lands before, sire"

"Of course you haven't, Uther, for those are the landmarks of the continent of Elibe… in another world."

"So… Does that mean I have to come to that world, find them and tell those warriors they are the chosen one, sire?"

"Not exactly, Uther" The archangel patiently explained "For they also have another fate… their world is also undergoing a crisis never seen before, and they can't help it but save their world first. What you have to do is to accompany them in their travels, giving them what help you can and then tell them the dictation of fate at the right time. Only then shall they be given the weapons of God and fulfill their destiny. Your job shall be to act as a guide to those heroes and reveal to them no more than they should know"

"So, in order to do this job… I shall be resurrected, shan't I, sire?" Uther asked

"Not really resurrection, Uther, for your two devoted followers, Aurius the Seeker and Agramand the Truthbearer have incinerated your remains to avoid it being further defiled by the undead. You'll have to use another body to get there"

"Yes, sire… I'll find no problem in that" Uther replied

"Now, in order to help you as much as I can, I have come to an independent decision. This time only, I'll give you a present, which is what Time has taken away from you. Uther the Lightbringer, you shall be present in Elibe with the body you used to have 50 years ago, as a bright youth with both strength and wit"

Uther was overjoyed upon hearing that. He immediately bowed down to thank the archangel.

"I thank you, sire, I promise I will give up my life in order to bring the forecasting of fate into reality"

"Just one more thing, Uther" the Seraph suddenly turned stern "You must never, I repeat, never ever show anyone your true identity as a Paladin of Lordaeron, as well as informing anyone at all of the existence of Lordaeron, until the time comes. If you should fail to do this, not only shall Lordaeron never have redemption, but you will also suffer from eternal torment from within your soul for failing your people, even though you may as well be granted a place in Heaven"

"Yes, sire" Uther bowed down "I swear it"

"Alright then, Uther the Lightbringer, it's high time you should go. Now, you shall be teleported to Elibe shortly in the new younger body of yours. To give you a final hint, I advise that you adopt yourself a new name… Uther Lightblade, I suppose… and a new set of identity. You should do this yourself, but I'd highly suggest your being a tactician of sort"

Stopping for a while as if giving Uther the time to think over it again, the archangel continued

"And now, I hope you are all set, Uther"

Then the Seraph drew his golden sword waved it a few rounds overhead, chanting some phrases, and finally pointed the sword at Uther. The blade glowed brightly, and it seemed that all what the Seraph was waiting for was Uther's word of readiness.

"I am ready, sire" Uther said firmly "For my people, IT SHALL BE DONE!!!"

A blinding ray of light then shot out from the tip of the archangel's sword, and the old paladin felt himself dissipating. A new journey opens up for the paladin… in order to save those things he loved.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

_**A Girl from the Plains**_

For how long Uther had remained unconscious after the Lightbringer got hit by the Supreme Seraph's Blade Beam, he himself didn't know for certain. It seemed to him that he had been unconscious for a very long time… maybe even months and years. His sleep had, as he could think about it, broken the barrier of time and space. Having experienced many battles, magic of both friends and foes, things that could go so far as shatter one's body into atomic bits or bringing those having died for a long time back to life, had been a commonplace to the old Paladin, but this was nothing like any of the spells that either the orcs or humans used to cast. Perhaps it was because this time he had no material body to feel the impact of the spell that the archangel had cast. Or it was rather because the Supreme Seraph had been trying to… push his soul into a new body, a procedure known to be at least ten times harder than resurrecting the dead, which was the hardest and most remarkable deed a Paladin of the Order of the Silver Hand could ever think about doing. It took the Paladin so long to reach his destination that, for a tad bit of time, he literally forgot completely that his slumber was not natural in the first place.

In any case, the Paladin finally got up, and when he did, he was obviously not where he used to be… not in Lordaeron. Instead of the usual gold-laced, Stormwind-made bed in the Capital City that he would expect himself to wake up in as per normal, Uther found himself now lying under several layers of thin blankets on a small mattress. The old warrior twitched and turned a few rounds before finally opened his eyes widely to look around him.

What a surprise!

He was observing with his very eyes the interior of a rather nomadic tent, which brought back bad memories, as Lordaeron rarely saw any nomads, with the common exception of… orcs, those who Uther would hate to see himself facing without having a war hammer and a Paladin spellbook with a chain included ready for action. However, this time Uther had had a completely different experience, for all around him he could not smell the dreadful taste of blood, like all orc camps used to possess due to the excessive amount of uncured trophies made from human corpses they use to keep. Instead, there was the sharp, but sweet, scent of some exotic flowers. The way everything was decorated gave Uther the unsatisfactory feeling that he was laying on forbidden ground… that he was in a girl's room…

"Are you awake?" a sudden, but rather soft, girlish voice sounded, cutting off Uther's chains of thoughts

Uther's heart nearly jumped out of his chest. In front of him stood a gorgeous teal-haired young lady, dressed in strange greenish nomadic style clothing with a sheathed katana strapped to her side and carrying a tray of all the stuffs you can think about giving to a patient having been injured. The Lightbringer could swear he had never seen anyone prettier than that in his life, and that meant even the lovely young mage called Jaina Proudmoore that Arthas used to stick around with. _"But you are the LIGHTBRINGER, Uther!"_ the paladin could barely keep calm _"You must never let things like this get on your mind"_. Finally, when he had been able to calm himself down, the paladin sighed and closed his eyes again _"I'm getting too old for this" _he thought.

"Yeah, I guess I'm fine now" Uther started, and as soon as the words escaped his lips, the old Paladin could no longer believe his ears. His voice had totally changed overnight! Now he sounded more like he used to about fifty-odd years ago, about at the time of the Second War when he was still fighting alongside the late hero Lord Anduin Lothar. His voice now was rather bright and had no further traces of what time had done to him.

"And… where am I?" Uther asked in great wonder

"I found you unconscious on the plains" the young girl replied "Don't worry, you are safe now"

"It seems that I do owe you my life" Uther stated "Could I ask you for your name?"

"Yes, of course. I am Lyn, of the Lorca tribe" the girl answered "What is your name then? Can you remember anything?"

"Ah, yes, I am Uther. Uther the Lightbr- I mean, Lightblade." Uther replied. As a matter of habit, the paladin was about to give a whole speech about his being Uther the Lightbringer, Grandmaster of the Order of the Silver Hand, Regent of Lordaeron and Lord Commander of the Royal Army of Lordaeron when the Seraph Tyrael's words struck his mind, reminding him that it was then not yet the time and place to reveal his true identity.

"Uther Lightblade? That's a rather… odd name" the girl replied "But pay me no mind. It's a good name"

"Okay then" Uther said "Could I ask you for a small favor?"

"Yes, Uther, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Hmm… could I borrow one of your… let's say, mirrors for a little while?"

"Oh, yes… Alright, that's no problem" Lyn said heartily "I'm getting you one"

As Lyn left the room, Uther was alone for a short while to start dwelling on his own thoughts._ "What am I saying?"_ Uther realized in horror_ "Asking a girl for a mirror? If my soldiers… my fellow paladins hear of this, what shall become of Uther the Lightbringer's reputation?"_ But Uther couldn't help it. The Seraph Tyrael had previously told him that he had granted him young age in order to complete his quest. He simply had to find out if the archangel had kept his promise or not. And it seemed that he had, for Uther had, upon hearing his own voice, realized that he should be up to fifty years younger than his real age now. What he needed was just a mirror to confirm the fact.

A few minutes later, Lyn returned to the bed with a small hand mirror in her left hand. She handed Uther the mirror and then gave a small smile as Uther took the mirror. Just waiting for that, the old Paladin lifted his back and looked at his own face's reflection from the little devil. The poor old paladin nearly jumped off the bed looking at himself. And he had good reasons to, as in the mirror, the face time had forced him to forget for about fifty years had finally returned! In front of him now was a bright young twenty-year-old Uther of the Second War, with nice long strands of gold hair and absolutely no wrinkles of his age, as food as his old muscles had vanished in favor of newer, rejuvenated ones. And for god's sake, his well loved suit of beard and moustache that he took great pride in had had also vanished without a trace. It so happened that the Seraph had kept his promise, which is generally speaking a good thing, except for some minor snags, like there was now no reason for the devout paladin to refer to himself as 'old', which naturally discarded his _"I'm getting too old for this"_ comment.

"Uhh… excuse me, Uther, but what was wrong?"

"Ah, nothing at all" Uther replied, trying to keep himself calm "I was just trying to see if I was… intact after all what happened"

"You are, that is as far as I know" Lyn gave one of those girlish sniggers on impulse, but then suddenly turned serious again "So, Uther, I see from your attire that you are a traveler. Are you a merchant or something? No one else wear your kind of clothing and go to Sacae at this time of the year"

"_Oh, holy father who art in Heaven! Archangel Tyrael, for one last time, I am a proud paladin of Lordaeron! And me…a merchant?" _Uther thought frantically, but quickly got his mind back_ "And… wait a second, didn't you tell me I should claim to be a tactician? Well, it seemed that I have no choice… So I'll be a tactician from now on. Uther Lightblade the tactician, huh? Not a bad title after all" _

"Okay, so I happen to be a tac…"

Uther never could finish his sentence, for before he had the chance to, the tent was surrounded with sounds of shouting people and clashing metal, presumably of weapons. The instinct of a warrior having outlived two great wars immediately told Uther that something was wrong. It seemed that the woman beside him also got that kind of a feeling, as she immediately jumped out of her seat, looking very urgent.

"Hmm? What was that noise? I'll go see what is happening." The girl spoke clearly and confidently as if giving out an order "Uther, wait here for me"

Before the Lightbringer could further react, the smartly dressed young lady leaped over the heap of stuffs on the floor, landing at the tent's exit, and took a glance out quickly. It didn't take long before she turned back with an extremely serious face and a flaring pair of eyes

"Oh no! Bandits!" she cried out softly "They must have come down from the Bern Mountains! They must be planning on raiding the local villages!"

Uther, as a matter of habit, stretched out his right hand searching for his war hammer and his spellbook, only to realize that he did not come to the place as a paladin, but rather as a supposedly unarmed and unarmored non-combatant. The paladin sighed. If it was the hammer-wielding Uther the Lightbringer that was there, equipped with his ever trusted blessed hammer and holy spellbook, no bandits could ever think about getting past him without getting their skulls bashed in, or even worse. In the older time, Uther had even recalled an encounter with a gang of bandits who actually dropped arms and surrendered to the Lordaeron Army as soon as they heard Lord Uther was out there commanding the army.

But this was not the time to o so any more. According to Supreme Seraph Tyrael, Uther was not to get armed and fight like a Silver Hand Paladin at the wrong time or his people would suffer from the dire consequences. And as Uther never knew a moment in his life that he forgot to put on Divine Shield before going to battle, it would be very unlikely that he will remember _not _todo so this time, and which would be the worst thing that could happen to him, not to mention the whole of Lordaeron. Thinking it over, Uther decided to stay put and pretend to have no knowledge of martial arts whatsoever.

"I… I have to stop them! If that is all of them, I think I can handle them on my own" Lyn said confidently "You'll be safe in here, Uther"

"I shall give you a hand if you allow" the warrior self of the Lightbringer voiced itself, and Uther found himself uttering those words

"You want to help? Can you use a weapon?" Lyn asked

For a second, Uther wished he had not said so. Without the war hammer… without the spellbook… without the PERMISSION to use Divine Shield and the like, Uther was as good as trashed. However, as quick-witted as Uther was, the wise paladin quickly found himself a way out of the sticky situation. As the Seraph suggested, he was now a tactician, and a good tactician he shall be.

"I am a tactician by trade, milady." Uther declared "If you'd allow me, I shall give you some sound pieces of advice to aid you in combat"

"You are a tactician?" Lyn said, her eyes trying to conceal curiosity "What an odd profession, but… very well, we shall go together"

"_What the hell am I saying?" _Uther mumbled silently_ "Well… wait, aren't I a decorated general of the Kingdom of Lordaeron and the leader of the Paladins of the Order of the Silver Hand? Leading an army is my instinct!"_ Thinking so, Uther took a deep breath, pushed himself out of the mattress, and looked at his 'savior' confidently

"Ready when you are" he said, putting up a good smile.

The battle ended quickly, and all what was left of the bandits were two fresh corpses. In any sense, the band of bandits numbered even less than the Lordaeron Royal Family before the Scourge of Lordaeron, if Uther was to count himself into it. What happened was that Lyn was able to bring one bandit down not breaking a sweat, and then, with a stroke of good luck, without which she would have lost her life, defeated the second. Uther barely directed her to do anything, for the moment Lyn entered the battlefield, she raged across it like a mindless berserker, and for at least once Uther had to hold his breath, for she had put herself into great risk in her own rage, which is nothing good for a warrior in battle.

"_Far too reckless" _the ex-paladin thought_ "If that weren't bandits she was fighting but the Scourge…Well, I just hope if there is a day we can come back to Lordaeron, I won't have to command soldiers as overly daring as this"_

The battle, however, was in fact over, and the young teal-haired lady was the victor. After the young lady had cut down the last bandit, an overconfident and boastful axe wielder who called himself Batta the Beast, wiped the bloodied sweat drops off her face, sheathed her iron katana and tucked away several strands of loose hair back in place, she made her way back to where Uther the Lightbringer was standing.

"I'm sorry" She said between breaths "I… sorely underestimated him"

"I know" Uther said, both sympathetically and sternly "In real combat… I mean, one with two armies setting up a full scale battlefield ready for a massive onslaught against each other, you know… you'd have been slain. You had better mend that"

"Uhm… Did I worry you?" Lyn asked, rather embarrassed after taking the old paladin's lecture "If so, I am sorry…"

"You'd have to do a lot more to perfect yourself" Uther said gently "And not endangering your own life"

"Yes… you're right…" Lyn said "I'll need to be stronger if I want to survive in this world… strong enough that no one can defeat me…"

Uther didn't admit it, but he did frown at the sound of what the girl called Lyn had just said. _"To be strong enough that no one can defeat her?"_ What was that pinching in the bottom of his heart that the paladin was feeling? It was certainly not sympathy… never for that kind of speech. Remembering one year ago, when Arthas himself uttered something likewise about taking revenge for his people killed by the Scourge, Uther knew outright that he was going the wrong way. Having lived for that long, the Lightbringer knew just too well that plain rage and hatred would lead a person nowhere.

"I haven't known you enough yet" the paladin replied "but to say frankly, you shouldn't think that way…"

"You don't have to say any further" Lyn interrupted him in mild resentment "We children of the plains have our own way of getting things sorted out"

The paladin gave out a sigh of dismay. A veteran like him… three wars, ten thousand soldiers and thirty paladins under his command had been a record not many in Azeroth could hope to match, except for maybe the legendary Lothar. And there was now a girl defying his fondest advice? _"Maybe my time is over" _Uther pictured in his mind. In his old days… Yes, in his glorious days, he could even cut down Orcish Blademasters and Witch Doctors in great numbers with ease. And now he had to leave the business of dealing with a tiny group of bandit to a little girl barely the age of his granddaughter (Note: Uther the Lightbringer had no granddaughters) What's worse, at one time she even told Uther to run away if she falls in battle, and to say frankly, the greatest humiliation to a Paladin of the Silver Hand is retreating while someone else fight- and probably die- for him. That was why it was no surprise when the final blow was struck; Uther felt a load had just been taken off his heart. But the young girl's defiant comment had replaced the small weight in his heart with another, rather larger and heavier one. _"Blind hatred turns a man very quickly into a beast. Arthas was there as an example"_

The duo spent some time burying the dead, digging up a good hole and dumping the corpses of the two bandits down it. Having fought many battles, witnessed much death, even that of those he respect, like Lord Anduin Lothar or King Terenas Menethil and buried those he even considered his children, Uther had grown used to it. He wondered if his companion was alight after having slain those two robbers. And to his surprise, she was. The way she tossed the bandits' dead bodies into the grave showed more despise than one of her age could probably have. And the sight of that action had troubled Uther even further.

Before Uther knew it, darkness had drawn in, and the biological clock of an old man told Uther that it was time to get a good night's rest. Furthermore, it seemed that the paladin hadn't fully gotten used to his new body yet. Surely, it was everyone's dream to get younger than their age, but such a sudden change had been dramatic enough to make Uther feel uncomfortable moving around with the rejuvenated vigor of a youth. _"Maybe a good sleep would solve it all" _he thought.

It turned out that going to sleep would pose some serious problems to the Lightbringer according to three principles of the paladins of the Silver Hand. Firstly, paladins do not ask for more than they deserve. Secondly, paladins do not share a room, or a tent, with someone of the opposite sex. And thirdly, paladins always reserve the best conditions to women, children, the weak and the elderly. Politely, he asked Lyn to let him sleep outside, and his extreme persistence finally won him a mattress outside the nomad tent to spend the night.

It was finally time for Uther's nightly prayer. The old paladin had made it a habit to pray to the Holy Spirit of the Light every night before going to sleep. However, that night was by no means normal, in all senses. Thinking so, the paladin decided to alter the wording of the prayer a bit. _"Holy father who art in heaven"_ Uther prayed silently_ "Please forgive this believer if he has done, or thought, something wrong, and please forgive this young lady if she had done anything against the Will of the Light"._ Looking up the sky, Uther the Lightbringer sighed, and hoped that his pleads would somehow reach the Higher Heaven and the Divine God, who would always be there to shield and cover all believers. Then, the paladin figure lay down on the mattress, and the now-tactician closed his eyes closely.

The night was calm and peaceful to the Lordaeron Paladin, who, since the beginning of the Scourge of Lordaeron, had never been able to enjoy a good night. Uther's last memory of a well spent night was that of the day when Arthas and Jaina went on their first date. Since that day, nights were spent not sleeping, but rather slumbering, the cleric knight's dream filled with strange images and sounds, of people being poisoned, slashed, mowed down and turned into mindless abominations, of villages annihilated, of communities eradicated, of whole regions wiped out, of deluges of blood flooding the human kingdom the old paladin had strived so hard to build and protect… The people of Lordaeron had been crying for help, and the old warrior was yet to be able to help them. The righteous warrior had been plagued by such things for too long yet, that now the stalwart Lightbringer could not resist the notion of a night amongst the cool breeze of the plains. With the wording of the prayer still echoing in his head, Uther the Lightbringer sank into a deep sleep, hoping for a better day to come…


	3. Chapter 2

**_Author's notes:_** Well, so I've updated! It was quite early I suppose, but as I'll have little time to update when school's in, I guess I'll update all what I can before that deadline is struck. Great thanks to sagewolf for being my first significant reviewer! Hope to hear from you again, real soon!

And here comes my Chapter 2 for my crossover!

* * *

_**Chapter 2 **_

_**The Strategist's Terms**_

Having been to many other exotic places in his whole life with an army behind him, Uther knew one thing for certain. It was never bad to sleep in the open, for you shall be the first to fall asleep as well as the first to rise and shine. The grassy plain was just another perfect place for such an experience. And for that particular dawn, Uther rose up from the heap of mattresses and blankets, stretched his young limbs and looked around for a rising sun, firmly believing that he was the first to be up, as per usual.

But that was just not the Lordaeron Paladin's usual camping day with the Silver Hand.

For over there, a distance from Uther's camping ground, the young girl whose companionship he had been enjoying was standing there, probably for long before he had woken up, sword firmly gripped in hand, in a battle-ready posture. Uther was astonished a bit at that interesting sight. As per normal, it would mean someone was sneaking up for a surprise attack, which Uther wasn't quite sure of being able to fend off at the time of the year when he did not have the right to use deadly force. As a cautionary habit, Uther quickly scanned his eyes around for any sight of possible assaults. There was no one in sight, not even an animal. Worry quickly turned into curiosity, as Uther observed closely Lyn's actions. It seemed that the girl was doing a bit of early practice with her sword, and the sight of a neatly and smartly dressed up girl up early in the morning in battle formation was quite a sight to an old general.

All of a sudden, the slim figure sprang up as high as a human could probably leap, then swung her blade a few rounds in the sky up and down like performing a sky waltz, before finally focused her weight on the underside of her blade, forcing it to slam into the ground, sending sand, grass blades and even tiny pebbles into the air in its wake. The power of such move could even equal that of a full slam of the Paladin war hammer, and it was achieved just using a slender sword. The girl then leaped up high again, her blade facing the air, carrying out an uppercut. Finally, a few rounds of triple somersaults at about three meters above ground concluded her flashy performance, and the Sacaen lady landed on the ground safely and swiftly without breaking too much sweat.

"Fascinating" Uther uttered in plain professional interest "The use of strength and agility in harmony was perfect"

Uther's words had inadvertently cut the show short, for Lyn certainly did not expect hearing any such disruption. She turned back quickly, and sheathed her sword upon seeing that the one having made that comment was none other than her guest.

"So… you're awake" she said, smiling

And, well, your sword dance is beautiful!"

"Thanks" the teal-haired young lady replied "It's just practise makes perfect"

"No, really, whoever taught you the sword must be a grandmaster himself" Uther praised, and on this occasion, he was not lying. The nearly magical sword dance Lyn had just performed was something not many in Lordaeron could afford to carry out, except for mayhaps the Orcish Blademasters, which Uther wouldn't compare here.

"Almost every child of the plains is a born martial artist" the girl smiled proudly "It's... innate for us to take up arms in our free time. And by the way" her voice suddenly changed to a more concerned tone "Are you sure you are fine now? Yesterday you looked quite bad, I didn't believe you could recover that quickly…"

"I am a seasoned traveler, you see" Uther replied on impulse "Fainting on the road and be laid back for a day or two doesn't affect me much"

It was obviously a lie, but Uther's physical form at present was just able to hide the fact up quite well. Even his younger body was somewhat muscular, underlying the endurance of a well-trained up globetrotter. In any case, the young Lyn did not pay much attention to verifying his words.

"Well, I don't think so. That fight and all the manual work yesterday must have taken a lot out of you" Lyn continued "You don't seem to be involved in battles that much as I do, so I'm afraid if…"

"Never mind" Uther replied "I can get adopted to just about anything"

His words were responded to by a hearty giggle from his young friend. Either it was she did not believe him, or she found what he said funny, but one thing was certain that Uther could tell. She was clearly bright and cheerful by then, in stark contrast with her utter despite when she buried the dead bandits the last evening. _"And it was always good to see a young lady behaving in character"_ Uther thought, and smiled as well _"Maybe she is not the kind of vengeful person Arthas is…"_

"Well… Uther, so… if you are well now, would you mind if I ask you something?" Lyn's voice suddenly tightened up again, to Uther's surprise

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Uther asked her "I would be willing to aid you in any way possible"

"Well… though you are not a warrior, it does seem that you have a great deal of experience in the way of war, is that right?" Lyn asked the old paladin back

"I can give you a solid nod on that part" Uther replied, confidently banking himself on his past deeds in leading the Lordaeron Army "I can give you as much advice as you would probably need if you feel like it"

"That is more than great!" Lyn said enthusiastically "So, would it be possible if I accompany you on your travels?"

"Accompany me?" Uther asked in astonishment. Surely in many a year, many other people had asked the same thing from him, but this is now a completely different story "Do you have any idea in the first place where I am going?"

"No, if I am to say it out, but will that be a problem?"

"Of course not. But… you had better check with your parents before going, anyway… for my journeys are, as far as I know, indefinite and…"

Uther could never finish his sentence, for before he knew it, Uther was able to see clearly the eyes of his companion suddenly turned watery, and tears quickly formed and rolled down her cheek.

"What… what was… Did I say anything that offended you?"

"I… I can no longer ask for my parents' permission… They died six months ago…"

"DIED?" Uther nearly exclaimed in astonishment "What had happened to them?"

"It was… those bandits… they attacked my people… they killed so many…and the rest of my tribe is scattered…" Lyn sobbed, nearly loosing her sensibility "My father was the chieftain, and… and I want to protect my people in his place… but they are not likely to listen to a woman… like me"

"Band-… wait… does that have anything to do with those two ruffians attacking yesterday?" Uther asked in great enthusiasm. Looking closely in the watery eyes of the young woman talking to him, Uther could notice the frightening flare from beneath the blanket of tears.

"As a matter of fact, they are part of those responsible" she said, nearly growling in rage "I'm sorry, Uther, I am being too emotional… I will shed no more tears… I'll…"

"I can see that" Uther replied calmly, but still empathetically "That explained your attitude yesterday, didn't it? If that was what happened to your people, I will be more than glad to lend a helping hand"

"Uther… I…I want… no, I must become stronger… my family and my tribe must be avenged! I have been alone for some time now, but I've seen it all… after yesterday's battle. I will not get stronger by sitting here alone…"

"What you need is some serious training" Uther said "If that is so, you can accompany me… Yes, you can"

"You will let me?" Lyn replied in great rejoice "That's wonderful! I… I don't know how I can ever thank you enough… We'll be better off working together, I know it! So you'll be my master strategist, and I will be your peerless warrior! We can do it, right?"

"Not so quickly, Lyn" Uther said "Save all this till later, for I have got some terms that I would have to ask of you when we get out there"

"Yes, anything! I will do whatever you ask in my power!" Lyndis nodded, smiling

"Well, it's not going to be much a problem for you, but my terms are four. Firstly, I don't know much about this continent"

"Huh? I thought you are a traveler?" Lyn opened her eyes widely in great astonishment "and… you came to Sacae in the first place"

"Err… well, it is my habit never to keep a map, and so… I often forget about a place as soon as I leave it" Uther lied "So, if anything, could you act as my travel guide as well?"

"Oh… okay, I don't think that will matter much. What else?"

"Secondly, I am currently having a… mission of sort, and I would like you to provide me with what information you have on the subject when I ask you. And furthermore, what I am doing is top secret, so I hope you wouldn't mind not asking me what I am doing. Is that fine?"

"A mission?" Lyn opened her eyes curiously "What kind of mission is that? May I… may I ask you what it is?"

"Lyn" Uther shook his head in a General-Lord-Paladin, yet still somewhat fatherly posture "I did say it was a secret mission, did I? You… needn't know about it… for now, I suppose. Just keep in mind that it is nothing bad. Is that alright?"

"Yes" Lyn replied, her curiously somewhat forcefully subdued "I … agree. What is the third condition then, Uther?"

"Okay. Now, the third condition is that you must refrain yourself from anger as much as possible and not so hell-bent on taking vengeance on your enemies that you forget everything else"

"You mean… forgetting the massacre that has befallen my people?" Lyn rolled her eytes in what appeared to be half-anger and half-astonishment, and tears once more began to form in her eyes involuntarily "That is beyond my power! I shall not let the culprit get away with it!"

"Well, no, Miss Lyn, I never say that I want you to forget about your tribe's tragedy. On the contrary, I would also as well ask you to carry out the vengeance, if your enemies are as evil and outlawed as bandits" Uther explained calmly "However; I would like you to have a better… attitude towards the rest. I want to ask you that you must never let rage and bloodlust completely take over you. You must be able to control yourself, for if you don't, you'll be putting yourself as well as many others into mortal danger, even those no less innocent than your deceased countrymen. Do you get that?"

"I'll… well…" Lyn hesitated for a while "Okay, I think I can do it to an extent… but I can't be sure of that always"

"I'll remind you when you get a bit over the limit, so don't mind it. As long as you have the will to contain yourself, I'll be there to help"

"Yes… Thank you. But… what is the fourth condition?"

"Finally, what you told me yesterday when you fought Batta the Beast would apply to you instead of to me. Which means that if I am in trouble, you must get yourself to safety and don't mind what happens to me"

"What? How can I…" Lyn was held back once more "You are asking me to behave like a coward, are you? Don't you know that the children of Father Sky And Mother Earth never ever cower in fear however powerful the foes are?"

"Now, Miss Lyn, let me make it clear to you" Uther said sternly, as if uttering an order "You are technically the last member of your tribe, meaning that I will be committing genocide if I let you die, especially when you think you are helping me. Your parents and fellow people would never want that to happen. If you fall in battle, what shall I tell them?"

"…"

"I know it's hard on you to accept such a term, but…"

"We are working as a team, are we not?" Lyn looked at Uther straight in the eyes "If we are, you must know that I am never leaving you, as good as I believe you'll never leave me"

"…Fine then" Uther finally withdrew "That last condition shall be suspended until the time comes. But you must comply with the first three, is that clear?"

"Roger that" was Lyn's hearty answer "I'll follow your every commands"

"Alright. This trip shall be long, and not to mention dangerous. We should be very well prepared before setting off." Uther said "So, do you have any suggestion?"

"Bulgar shall be our first destination, I suppose" Lyn replied

"Bulgar? Where is this?" Uther asked

"Ah… It is the largest commercial town of Sacae. We need to get there to get some of the equipment and supplies we may need, even a few good horses"

"Then it is decided" Uther said firmly "We shall go there as soon as possible, do you agree?"

"Right now" Lyn replied, a broad smile of excitement decorated her fair visage "I have got one spare horse over there in my makeshift stable. If we start now, we will be there at midday"

As the girl went off to fetch the horses, leaving just Uther alone by himself, the paladin sighed again, shaking his head. He was about to take in another student, a term he had been dreading ever since Prince Arthas went berserk and went against his own people. But unlike Arthas, whose eyes Uther could only see determination and fury in, Lyn had showed him that she is as emotional and kind as she is determined and vengeful. Maybe if Uther could train her up to a certain degree, she would prove to be a great help in the search for the three heroes Supreme Seraph Tyrael had spoken of- Lyndis, Eliwood and Hector. Only then would Arthas be vanquished, and peace would return to Lordaeron.

"_A ray of hope" _Uther prayed silently_ "The Light, give me strength to serve my people…"_

As Lyn brought the horses from the stable, mounted one and asked Uther to get on the other, Uther felt like a new era was beginning to him. The last time Uther had ridden seriously for battle was twenty years ago, as Paladins of Lordaeron had the unusual habits to shun all what sounds knightly- horses, swords and helmets. Now, as it came to pass, Uther was walking his first steps on a road to drop all what belonged to the past behind him- the Silver Hand, the Kingdom of Lordaeron, even trivial things like his blessed hammer and spell tome.

At the very face of it, Uther's action could be thus judged as cowardice, his being a deserter who had left his own people behind to look for a better future. _"No. This is not desertion" _Uther thought, firmly sticking to his guns. And of course, he was right, for the true purpose of that skin-deep desertion of the past was to save it. Though it was much against his will, the Paladin had vowed to do anything to serve his people the best, whatever it would take, and however people may judge him.

"Uther?" Seeing that her companion was somewhat perplexed, Lyn rode to him just about to help him with any possible difficulties "Are you alright? Can you ride a horse?"

"I can" Uther replied, smiling at the kind Sacaen lady "And even if I couldn't, I will never give up"

"You are right, Uther" The plainswoman waved her hand, then yanked hard at the horse's mane "Now, let's ride!"

As the morning came to pass, on a quiet and relatively sparsely walked path along the open prairie, the odd team of a 'retired' paladin and an extremely energetic swordswoman was laying their first step to an epic adventure yet to come...


	4. Chapter 3

_**Author's note:**_ Finally, chapter 3 has been up! This carries the essence of in-game Chapter 1 and, an apology to sagewolf that I haven't been able to make it deviate too much from the game story. It is also ridiculously long and, to help readers digest it, I have decided to use Uther the Lightbringer as a source of comic relief.

Uther the Lightbringer: WHAT? Using me as a source of comic relief? The Light curses you!

Author: Uh oh, there the old man goes again.

Uther the Lightbringer readies war hammer and Holy Bolt : Betrayer of the Light!

Author: Well, oughta go now, see ya! Runs away 

Uther the Lightbringer: Be gone, spawns of darkness! Mauls author on the head 

Owww… That hurts… This old man needs to take more tranquilizer the next time I invite him on stage…Well, anyway, the chapter is here for you to enjoy! Bon appetite!

_**Chapter 3**_

_**Not Your Everyday Mounted Knights**_

The journey took the duo quite some time, as the sparsely population of the plains of Sacae meant that the mean distance between a nomad camp to a large town would often measure from tens to hundreds miles long, and travel and transportation was not very promising. Fortunately, Lyn's lone camp was rather near the outer rim of the plains, and that made it a bit easer for the two travelers to get to their supposed destination. Nevertheless, the trip was still extremely time-consuming, if Uther was to consider the average traveling time between any specific locations in Azeroth to be nearly zero, because of the infamous town portal system. Untalkative as the Silver Hand Grandmaster was, Uther couldn't help but talk the journey over with his new companion, partly because of boredom and partly because he needed to find out as much about his traveling companion and this heaven-know-what non-Azeroth land he was in now.

"So… did you say that everyone born in the plains has to be educated in one sort of martial art or another?" Uther asked

"Yeah" the plainswoman answered, enjoying the wind playing with her hair "our tribe, for instance, had mastered the sword long before I was born. But that is an exception, for the majority of our people are skilled hunters and archers trained in the art by the lifestyle itself"

"I see… it must have been quite an achievement for your tribe to master the sword"

"Uther, where were you born then?" Lyn asked with interest "Looking at your naturally blonde hair and your vast knowledge, I can think only of the ruling noble houses of Etruria. Am I right?"

"Well, I should rather say that I hailed from Lordaeron" Uther blurted "A place of lovely springs, beautiful summers and a remarkable assortment of races"

"L…Lordae what?" Lyn stopped yanking on the harness out of surprise "Where is that? I have never heard of that place before…"

"Oh…" Uther nearly lost his balance realizing his mistake, but was abler to mend things up quickly "It's a small village in Southern Etruria… population there is quite multiracial. Yeah, but I've left home for long enough now to not recognize it if I ever come back, if God blesses me to"

"Your style is so… unique." the teal-haired rider sniggered with a substantial degree of fascination and some particular hints of mischief, tugging the harness playfully "Would you mind if I, say, ask you some… more personal questions?"

"Go ahead" Uther replied, not wanting to be rude "What would you ask of me?"

"Yeah, like… how old are you?" Lyn blinked "You seem to be not much older than me, but your knowledge would show people otherwise"

"I am now nearing seventy five years of age" The old paladin remarked without thinking "and…"

"Father Sky and Mother Earth!" Lyn's eyes opened widely in astonishment, cutting Uther's speech short, her slim figure swiped on horseback in such a way that the old warrior at a particular moment thought that the young girl was about to fall off. After a short while, she finally regained balance and looked at Uther with a rather disparagingly playful look "Can you repeat the number, please?"

"What? I said I was sevent- wait, what did I just say?" Uther rolled his eyes at himself mentally

"You said you are an old man of seventy five" the plainswoman covered her mouth to hide yet another snigger

"What? Oh… great…" Uther stuttered, but regained self confidence once more and resumed resorting to lying "A good joke I've pulled off, haven't I?"

"Oh yes you have, you nearly made me fall off!" Lyn replied mockingly "I was thinking what good old Uther would be doing here at a time like this…"

"Well, to say the truth" Uther said, obviously the opposite of the truth "I am nineteen and a half, okay? A bright and perfect age to go globetrotting, so stop laughing, please, if you can"

Lyn hadn't much controlled her fit of girly laughter yet, especially at the sight of poor old Uther nearly cornered in like that. And the sight of the once great hero Lightbringer at that time was hardly heroic- the utter embarrassment had triggered Uther's panic button, during which his body would be quickly filled up with perspiration and his face laden with oversized sweatdrops (This is literal, not manga-styled sweatdrops). And the strange green overcoat that the Seraph Tyrael had dressed him up in only added to the discomfort- it was getting too hot for Uther in that thick leathery jacket when his sweating had grown largely out of control. _"Oh damn! If that girl laughs for a bit more, I think I'll die of dehydration!" _Uther thought frantically_ "Please, in the name of the Light, stop this!"_ Uther, fortunately, did not have to stand that kind of torture for too long, as Lyn soon stopped laughing, straightened up her posture, and gave a good smile to top it with.

"Okay, Uther" Lyn said, blinking meaningfully "I have to thank you a good deal. I haven't been able to enjoy such a thorough joke for as long as I can remember"

"_A joke? In the name of Lord Anduin Lothar and the honor of the Silver Hand and the Kingdom of Lordaeron, no!" _Uther racked up his brain as he wiped off the sweat overflowing his face_ "This is so wrong! Do I have to keep lying like this?"_ The old paladin sighed. He must get out of this… or could he? _"No…looks like I must keep on making up stories…can't afford to have that girl suspect me, if anything, or otherwise…" _Uther thought, trying to contain his own sense of righteous honor with a tad bit of prayer _"O Holy Spirit of the Light, please forgive this sinned believer"_

"Oh well… yeah, I thought it would do well to put back the smile on your face" Uther finally said, confusion still not having left his voice "By the way, how old are you?"

"I am eighteen as a matter of fact" Lyn smiled gently "And don't even bother to verify that, I am just unable to make up a joke as… fascinating as yours"

"Ha" Uther said, feigning a smile "I'll take that as a compliment. And by the way, are we in Bulgar yet?"

"A good distance to go, Uther. We had better hurry up so we may get there around midday as planned" Lyn replied, her voice suddenly softened a great deal "And… Uther?"

"What is it that ails you this time?" Uther asked, telling himself mentally not to reveal any more vital information that may blow his cover

"Thank you" the swordswoman smiled, blinking, her voice became both solemn and gentle, albeit somewhat perplexed "for having cared about me"

The plainswoman then yanked the horse's harness forcefully and started accelerating, leaving Uther to trail behind. The old man quickly did the same, and before they knew it, both riders were off into the horizon at top speed. The old paladin could never know the real reason behind the plainswoman's sudden acceleration as well as the perplexity in her voice a couple of seconds before that, but he could swear in the name of the Light that for that one brief moment, the female rider's cheek was starting to glow red in the same way Jaina did when the then-innocent Arthas presented her with a bright and freshly picked rose bulb in the Capital City palace garden five years ago…

The acceleration the duo had carried out had one positive effect at least- they arrived at their destinations about half an hour ahead of schedule. Uther's first look at the city from a hill outside showed nothing so special of this town- no sky-high observation towers like Dalaran, no elegant buildings and shop-windows like the Capital City, not even the famous ice-covered eversmoking blacksmiths were present like those he would have seen in the Dwarven Forges. On the contrary, comprised mainly of a large assortment of tents and pavilions of all sort, with the most remarkable structures being built of clay bricks and mud, a Lordaeron city-dweller like Uther could hardly believe that the settlement could qualify for even a town, let alone a city. There was only one thing that set the place from the lush green color of the plains- the large amount of people present in town.

"Is this…Bulgar?" Uther asked, looking around with a bit of disappointment

"Yes, here we are, Uther" Lyn replied cheerfully "Looks like we've got a good journey, and now we are ready to do what shopping we need before setting off. Well, it is the monthly market sale going on today, fortunately, and we may just get what we need in no time."

Then, she handed Uther a small pouch of money, smiled and said

"Okay, now you should stay here and get us a couple of spare weapons, while I'll go over there to get some food and other supplies. We'll meet at the town square in another hour, alright?"

Uther nodded, and was returned with Lyn's trademark optimistic smile, as she dashed off and mingled among the crowd doing shopping. The problem was, Uther did not like the idea too much.

_Shopping?_ Uther frowned slightly. As fond as the old cleric knight was of neat armors and flashy weaponries, the notion of going shopping was always on his list of I-Hate-You-The-Mosts. And so while it did came to him that he was there to purchase things in the first place, thinking back to it, the Lightbringer couldn't help feeling rather discomfort. _"Shake it off, Uther" _the paladin disciplined himself_ "You hate shopping because usually the Lordaeron Supply Convoy staff would follow your army and cater for your army's every need! It's high time you learnt to do things without those people!" _

Thinking so, the paladin started moving towards the nearest weapon stall, and started looking at the weapons on sale. There were swords, bows, axes, lances of all sizes and even a neat war hammer on sale. "_A War Hammer????"_ Uther's foundation shook at the sight of the weapon, and had good reasons for that. For a Lordaeron Paladin of the Order of the Silver Hand, the two most valuable possessions that they could ever have were arguably his oversized sledge hammer and his equally oversized tome of Light magic that happened to be chained to his armor at all times. And to all of those devout warriors, just the sight of one of those things or their look-alikes would bring back memories of the Order. To Uther, the sledge hammer had an even more profound impact, for his being the first cleric of Lordaeron to have ever taken up physical arms and became a Paladin, and to this moment, the cleric-knight had been regarding it as part of his own life.

And now, in front of him lay a large, fully functional mallet-o-war on sale, and all what he needed was to throw a bunch of gold coins in the little pouch that Lyn had given him a moment before to get it back. The temptation to pick the darling up, pay up for it and swing it a few rounds like in the old days troubled the Lightbringer's mind to no end. But he could never have allowed himself to do so, in the name of his belief. He was _NOT_ allowed to use a war hammer. That was, if he didn't want to give up his deathly secret. Still, there was something tingling in his two palms, exactly where his calluses were… used to be, for they were now no longer there on his new palms, like they were calling for their old flame…

"Here, if you'd allow me…" Uther finally spoke, after taking a deep breath, swallowing that missing part of his life down his gullets "I'd like to look at those two iron swords you'd have there…"

"Uther" the paladin suddenly heard a familiar voice in the horizons. Turning back, he could see the plainswoman walking briskly towards him, but this time, her expression, though as red as a beetroot her face was, showed utter disgust "We are moving out now"

"What? I haven't finished getting the weapons" Uther asked back "what was wrong?"

"We-must-go-now!" Lyn said angrily, her cheeks virtually glowing like a crimson neon bulb "Or, oh well, just make it plain and simple, we must leave"

Uther looked behind the plainswoman's shoulder and immediately realized what the commotion was all about, for there a few meters behind the absolutely embarrassed to death woman trying to pull out of it, stuck among the crowd, a lancer in green armor with a solid headband to top it with was moving at a remarkable speed through the crowded street, scrambling his way towards the teal-haired beauty in spite of all odds- in this case, 'all odds' meant a crowded street and a great number of shops in the way filled with fragile and not so inexpensive goods. His facial expression, if anything, showed a blank devotion often found in the womanizer figure that Uther sometimes had to pay valuable time disciplining while he was still a general of the Lordaeron Army. However, Uther the Lightbringer, to an extent, really respected his skill with the lance, as the armored dude manage to make his way skillfully across that kind of a crowd, while still managed to keep his lance in check without accidentally hitting or stabbing anything, or worse, anyone by accident, despite the clumsy stance by which he maneuver the crowd and the fact that his eyes were glued on Lyn's figure. _"This is fascinating. That kind of skill would far outmatch a standard knight of Lordaeron" _Uther thought with purely professional interest_ "Can't believe this lands has given rise to so many extraordinary talents"_

"Wait!" the green lancer virtually screamed, pushing through a full rank of nomad housewives examining fine potteries on sale over one corner of the street "Wait for me, O Beauteous One!"

"Who on earth is that fellow?" Uther blurted "Does he have anything to do with you?"

"Don't ask me about that good-for-nothing Lycian knight, I know nothing at all!" Lyn was definitely moving out, her cheek still glowing bright red "Now let us move out of here!"

"Hmm… this is odd" Uther said "A knight chases after you?"

Hardly had Uther finish his sentence when the apparently extremely embarrassed swordswoman tugged at his collar and, against his own will, pulled him out of the mess, heading for the city entrance. Uther didn't even have the chance to resist the pull, for before he knew it, the green lancer had been a long way away, a distance not easily covered especially with that lance he was carrying.

"Sain? Sain! What the hell are you doing out there?" a voice suddenly thundered behind the duo, and Uther managed to, out of curiosity, break free from Lyn's grip, take a glance back and, feeling that something was not too normal of all the noises, decided to move back to the scene to see what had happened

What a surprise! Not only did the green lancer escaped from the crowd safely without breaking anything and maiming anyone, but this time it seemed that he was not alone, for another lancer, holding on to two horses, had emerged from nowhere and joined the act. There is only one word to say about this newcomer- red. He had red armor, red hair, red cloak, and was even armed with a crimson-painted pike for some unknown reasons. The first thing he did upon seeing his companion was to turn to all the people on the street who were horrified by the bull-in-a-china-shop blind parkour the green lancer had just carried out, and said a big apology. After that, he virtually pulled his companion away by the collar with one hand and guided the two horses with another, until both of them was not too far from Uther's present location, and started yelling- though not to loudly- at the poor chap. From the way he spoke and the way he twisted his lips in annoyance, Uther was able to tell that the crimson lancer was, at least, a decent comrade of the green fellow's, and obviously was far from pleased with the mess he had put up in the street just now.

"Uther? Uther! Where are you going?" Lyn's yell in annoyance pulled Uther out of his observation, and as he looked back, he was no less surprised than the green lancer when a very mad Lyn appeared out of nowhere right in front of his nose, her face incredibly red with both anger and embarrassment. How Uther was put off! Lyn's voice thundered right before his ears, and Uther, once again, did not have a chance to defend himself. It was as if the whole town could hear the furious plainswoman shout, or maybe it was because Uther had suffered from the impact of a direct hit, but Uther could barely hear anything after the yell.

"Excuse me" the lancer in red suddenly approached the duo, and politely asked. He must have been amongst those who had been unfortunate enough to hear Lyn's shout, and immediately realized what it was about.

"Oh… yes. What is it that troubles you?" Uther said, but the red lancer seemed to have paid him no mind. He immediately walked up to the puzzled Sacaen lady and greeted her in the same polite and educated way that he walked by them

"I apologize for my partner's behavior" he said "He did seem to have disturbed you somehow"

"Thank you for minding" Lyn's tension seemed to have lessened a bit, as the red color in her face began to fade out "You, at least, seem honorable…"

"Hmm?" The red lancer suddenly took one more step towards Lyn, somewhat making their distance unconventional, as Uther could see clearly in Lyn's astonishment and slightly escalated embarrassment "Pardon me, but… have I seen you somewhere before?"

"Hey, no fair, Kent!" the green-armored lancer popped up right behind his red counterpart, and almost knocked his comrade over "I saw her first!"

The next thing that Uther realized that Lyn's face turned as red as blood in an instant _"Uh oh, those fellahs have had it!" _Uther thought, frowning_ "When this girl is angry, she is going to be extremely scary, as I have just seen" _Fortunately, it seemed that he had misjudged Lyn a bit, as after three or so seconds holding his breath, he saw nothing dramatic happening, such as a sword being drawn and the likes. Instead, the plainswoman just straightened up her garments, turned around and walked away.

"Uther, we must leave now" she said in a very calm manner, still facing away from the two lancers "It seems like there are no decent men among Lycia's knights. My patience has ended"

Then, she pushed through a line of people near the city entrance, walked out of town, and Uther did the same, until they were certain they were out of the lancers' sight for good.

"Wait! That's not what I…" the red lancer, named Kent, tried to call Lyn back to no avail. Seeing so, he turned back to his partner in great disappointment and resentment "Now you've done it, Sain"

"Huh? Is it just me, or did you just say no?" Sain, the green lancer, lifted his shoulders, puzzled "I thought you were…"

"You are the one sole Caelin knight who has officially sworn the vow to hit on every lady you come across, and not me!" Kent nearly shouted "Come, I fear she might be what we are here for…"

"What? That pretty lady is our mission?" Sain rolled his eyes "you gotta be joking!"

Kent did not wait for an answer, but instead mounted on one of the two hrses and sped off out of town. Sain had no other choice but to follow him, for being left in a Sacaen town alone is not quite a good thing for a Lycian, even if he was a knight.

Moments later, on top of a small grassy hill out of town, Lyn and Uther finally came to a halt, believing that they had been able to cut the persistent lancer off.

"So what really happened?" Uther finally asked when both he and Lyn had been officially out of town and sitting on the ground for a break, their horses tied to a tree nearby "You didn't even let me finish the shopping"

"That" Lyn promptly replied, wiping off the sweat on her forehead as she stretched her legs across the ground "is why none of us like to stay around Lycians, especially those knights. What did he think I am? A useless girl who would fall for one like them with the least bit of cheap flirting?"

"Err… do you think they are not… not really what you think they were?" Uther asked, and Lyn's expression nearly instantly put him off

"Uther, if you have never communicated much, let me tell you" Lyn said, her annoyance still hadn't died down "When a scoundrel says something flashy towards a woman, he would mean nothing good"

"well, but…" Uther tried to speak, but he could never finish his question, for from nowhere, a large hand axe flew into range, went in a full curve over his head and hit the ground, pinning onto it, the notion of which startled both the tactician and the swordswoman, and both of them leaped up from the ground at once. They were being attacked!

Lyn instantly drew her katana and looked around as Uther stayed behind her. Sooner than enough, the owners of the hand axe had come into range so as to be recognized- a band of seemingly bloodthirsty axe-wielding brigands, with a remarkably large man with a proportionately large axe as the leader.

"Those are not the knights from town…" Lyn said, looking around tensely "Those people are out for blood"

Uther took a good look around as well, and the situation didn't look so great. They were being outnumbered ten-to-one, and that was considering Uther to be a combatant. Looking at Lyn, Uther was even more anxious. It was correct that she had some lightning-fast sword techniques as well as a very strong will for someone of her age, but it wouldn't help too much if the attackers were that numerous. _"She is too fragile to fight all that much enemies" _Uther thought, scanning the field_ "What you need here is a good squad of fully upgraded knights of the Silver Hand, or a well-trained paladin of sort…a luxury as a matter of present…"_

"heheh, aren't you the pretty one?" the large man leading the enemies took a couple of steps forwards until he was able to see Lyn face to face "So you are… Lyndis, are you not?"

"Who are you? What did you just call me?" Lyn asked, rather perplexed

"_Lyndis?" _Uther thought in astonishment_ "That…that is one of the three heroes I must find to defeat Arthas! What is happening? Wait…if Lyn is Lyndis, I must protect her at all cost for the sake of the Kingdom of Lordaeron!"_

"Tsk. A pretty girl we've got right here, boys" The leader called his fellow thugs, who slowly advanced on the duo backing away "Oh well, what an absolute waste we must get you out of this world. Sorry, girl, but the gold is too much to be missed. Boys, you've got your orders!"

By the order of the leader, a large mob of about ten brigands moved straight forward, axe in hand, ever ready to cut poor Lyn into two pieces. Lyn nervously backed up, knowing somehow that she would stand no chance.

"This doesn't look good, Lyn" Uther said "If you think you can't do it, we can just get out of here. Our horses are still there as a matter of fact"

"I must agree that there are too many for me to handle" Lyn replied firmly "But I shall never give up!"

"If you insist" Uther said "I may lend you an extra…"

Third time in a row, Uther could not finish what he was about to say, for a sound of galloping horses closing in on managed to gather all attention, and to Uther's and Lyn's astonishment, the two lancers from the commotion in town had arrived on horseback, and it seemed that they were not there for ill.

"There she is!" the lancer in green armor halted his steed, calling to his friend "Whew, finally… made it"

And almost instantly he found out that things were not going on the right way. In front of him stood a good array of axemen, ever ready to draw blood with their brute force, and even the most ignorant of men could know what that platoon of ruffians surrounding a seemingly defenseless maiden could mean.

"Hey, you there! That number against a girl?" he spoke loudly "Cowardly! Despicable! Pick someone of your own size!"

"Isn't that the knight from town?" Uther said, and then turned to the mounted lancer "Hey you! You are that guy in town, are you not?"

"Let's not discuss this now, should we? It seems that we have a battle at hand here" Sain spoke to Lyn "My fair maiden, it seems that those ruffians would do you harm. If a fight is what they want, then a fight is what they shall get! Let me at them!"

"This is my fight" Lyn answered calmly "Please get out of my way"

"Milady" the green fighter's companion quickly got into the conversation "There is no need to quarrel over such maters as who should fight and who should not. Please command us and we will obey your orders. I am Kent, a knight of Caelin, and this is Sain, my partner. We shall follow your lead. Is this acceptable, milady?"

"Don't worry, Lyn" Uther spoke "I can still give you all sound advice in combat. It is not much trouble for me"

There was a pregnant pause

"Alright. I shall lead the way then" Lyn finally answered, pointing to Uther "This tactician, Uther here shall give you direct orders. Let's go!"

In Uther the Lightbringer's eyes, the rumble that followed was the most unconventional of battles he had ever seen throughout his life, and the reasons were plenty. First, the two cavaliers differed a great deal from the brigade of seasoned knights of Lordaeron that Uther used to command- the unit famous for having loud-and-foul-mouthed, fully ironclad warriors always in a zealous battle fury of religious belief and loyalty. Instead, the two knights under his command were more scantily armored, fought more sensibly than their Lordaeron counterpart, and were both handsome and gentle (Kent) or sweet-talking (Sain) enough to woo the majority of women in Lordaeron. Second, this was the first time in his life that Uther realized the existence of the weapon hierarchy- swords best axes and so on, in Elibe. _"If swords could maul axes that easily in Lordaeron" _he recalled bitterly after all had passed_ "We humans would have practically and systematically owned those Orcish invaders, for they use nothing but axes and we use nothing but swords"_ Third, the green lancer, or rather, cavalier, had proved to be the greatest failure to anyone who had trained him up in the way of the war, for he was able to make two deadly mistakes in a row by particularly violating the aforementioned hierarchy that nearly made him pay back with his dear life. Luckily, he only suffered from a good axe blow to the shoulder, which Lyn's vulnerary (and beauty, as he claimed) had been able to cure fully. And finally, the red lancer, for some reasons unknown yet, fought beside Lyn and him with as much loyalty and devotion as he would have around King Terenas Menethil or, earlier, Lord Anduin Lothar, which amazed the Lightbringer to a good extent.

The battlefield was a terrible sight to look on, as it had always been. Blood coved the field as the hilly plains where the skirmish took place was scattered with the dead's remains. The ten bandits coming out to get a piece of Lyn all ended up dead, and as the Lightbringer remarked, they were only a bit better than the common bandits that would come around robbing unaware and unarmed people in that they managed to get themselves a leader to gather round so as they would not run away when engaging with a stronger foe. Nevertheless, the superiority of the two cavaliers' armors, weapons and training meant that it would only be a matter of time before the overwhelmer became the overwhelmed. And the determination of the thugs to draw blood meant that they did not ask for any quarters at all.

"Blast… there was only… supposed to be… a lone… girl…" was the bandit lord's last words, and while normally Uther wouldn't care about what some despicable grunts would say upon death, this time what the boss said seemed to have had much implication.

"Lyn, we must go now. There is no telling how many more shall be coming over" Uther immediately voiced his anxiety after the last enemy had fallen

"I think that is the best idea we can have now" Lyn nodded "We have been too drained up today to fare for ourselves in that case. But before that…"

The plainswoman then turned to the two cavaliers who had participated in the battle on their behalf, and, seemingly having forgotten all the fuss in town just now, asked them politely.

"As of these Lycian knights" she said, smiling "What would your business here be?"

"Yes, milady" the red armored knight, Kent, spoke up "We have ventured from Caelin, Lycia in search of someone"

"Lycia… beyond the mountains in the southwest from here, I suppose?"

"Yes. We have come here as messengers to the lady Madelyn, who… eloped with a nomad… some 19 years ago…"

The rest of the story was extremely informative, and Uther's premonitions had been right. The girl who had saved him was one of the three supposed heroes of Lordaeron- Lyndis, and what was more, she was no ordinary ladies, but was rather the lost granddaughter of Marquess Hausen of Caelin, and that her mother had sent her grandfather a letter several days before disaster struck. The main business that the two troublemaking nonstandard knights were having was primarily to bring Lady Madelyn- Lyn's mother- or any of her nearest living relative back to Caelin safely and quickly, and that meant the plainswoman herself. The bad news was, the fact that the Marquess suddenly had got a heir apparent had effectively blocked the ascension of the previous heir, Lundgren- the marquess' younger brother, and he obviously was not please with it. The fact that even the bandits attacking them knew about her real name meant that Lundgren's reach had become dangerously close to claiming Lyn's life. And the wicked granduncle would want his young grandniece dead no matter what.

"Uther… I am sorry… this changes everything" Lyn asked, looking at her companion after a moment of silence "What would you want me to do?"

"This is a problem we've got here" Uther the Lightbringer remarked "What is Lundgren? A lord? That means a standing army and enough cash to get mercenaries to harass us for as long as we are alive. And what are we? A young lady and two… let me see… certainly not best knights around. This is getting out of control if you ask me"

"I see… So… you mean that…" Lyn said, a bit nervously "I should not follow those two cavaliers back to Lycia?"

"In common sense, yes, sadly" Uther said, suddenly becoming much more solemn and stressed "Nevertheless, milady, blood is thicker than water. Sometimes we resort to something not because it is the best, but rather because it is duty. If your grandfather, for some reasons, dies before you can see him, I would see that you would resent not coming over to him for the rest of your life"

Then, Uther took a fw steps towards Lyn, looked at her in the eyes for a brief moment to see clearly the reflection of her determination to see her last living relative, before finally bowed down a little and declared.

"I am yours to command, milady Lyndis. My ability is at your disposal"

"Uther…" Lyn said, looking at her faithful tactician "Thank you…"

"There is no need to, milady. It is also part of my mission" Uther replied

"The mission? What you had told me…" Lyn asked out of curiosity

"I am sorry, milady. It is all what you need to know now" Uther remarked "Other than that… let it be revealed at the right time"

"That means from now on we are under your command as well, milady" Kent stood up and declared "Sain and I will follow you for as long as we are alive!"

"_Those knights are nonstandard in many ways other than one compared to the Lordaeron Royal Champion" _Uther thought silently _"but in their heart, they are still knights, and good ones indeed. I shall assume control over them in battle for the future to come…"_

After paying a good deal of time burying the dead, as according to Sacaen nomadic ethics it was sinful to Mother Earth to leave the dead unburied, Lyn and the rest of the group went on, mounted on their four healthy steeds, this time there had been a destination not to be missed- The Territory of Caelin, deep within Lycia. The urgency of the matter made Lyn decide to ride through the night that night, and maybe many more ahead if things turned out badly

"And… Uther? Are you still awake?" Lyn asked her faithful tactician as they journeyed across the open plains in the darkness

"I am, milady" Uther replied, trying to hide his yawn "What would you ask of me?"

"Please" the plainswoman asked "Do not address me with the honorifics. I would just like to be called Lyn whenever possible, without the 'milady' added"

"If you say so" Uther replied "it shall be done"

The darkness managed to hide away well the youthful smile and cheery blush on the plainswoman's cheek- something that Uther would not like to see or enjoy so much for obvious reasons- one of those being duty.


End file.
